Essential Health & Safety Requirements (EHSRs)
Essential Health & Safety Requirements (EHSRs) act as the non-negotiable legal checklist for product compliance in Europe. Found in Annex III of the Machinery Regulation (formerly Annex I of the Machinery Directive), these requirements describe what result must be achieved to ensure safety, but not how to achieve it.
For North American manufacturers, EHSRs represent a shift from prescriptive US codes (like specific OSHA guard heights) to performance-based goals. They cover everything from mechanical stability and electrical safety to ergonomics and noise. To meet these broad goals, manufacturers typically apply Harmonized Standards. Using these standards provides a "presumption of conformity," effectively proving that you have satisfied the relevant EHSRs.
Addressing EHSRs is the core function of your Risk Assessment. You must go through the list line-by-line, identifying which requirements apply to your machine and documenting the solution in your Technical File. Without this documented evidence, signing the Declaration of Conformity (DoC) is legally invalid.
